Safely Transporting Hazardous Liquids and Gases in a Changing U.S. Energy Landscape (2018) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 8-13
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From page 8... ...
Often sourced from regions that were once minor producers of energy liquids and gases, these new supplies have created many unforeseen demands on long-distance energy transportation. Home to some of the country's most productive hydraulic fracturing fields, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and their neighboring states are located far from many established markets for oil and natural gas, such as refinery and petrochemical centers.
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From page 9... ...
The additional energy liquids and gas supplies, however, have presented some new and, in many cases, unanticipated safety assurance challenges. For instance, negligible amounts of crude oil, and relatively little ethanol, were transported by rail a decade ago.
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From page 10... ...
In response to derailments of trains carrying crude oil and ethanol, industry and government regulators have taken action, including the development of new rules governing the design of the tank cars eligible to carry these products, the routing and operating speeds of trains moving these tank cars, and the provision of traffic data to states and local communities for emergency response planning purposes. At that time, these regulatory measures and other steps to ensure the safety of shipments had to be developed quickly without the benefit of prior experience or an empirical basis to gauge potential impacts.
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From page 11... ...
This upstream segment, however, is characterized by the movement of oil and gas over short distances, often in low-volume gathering pipelines or by tank trucks operating on rural roads.1 At the other end of the logistics chain, the downstream transportation segment can be especially challenging because of the need to move flammable liquids and gases through populated areas, often by tank trucks operating in mixed traffic and in pipelines serving commercial and residential users. However, even though these safety challenges can be vexing, they have not changed fundamentally as a direct result of the domestic energy revolution.
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From page 12... ...
Because an important aspect of this safety assurance challenge is to ensure an effective emergency response, the study charge calls for an examination of the resources needed by the emergency preparedness community to plan for and respond to these incidents. The TRB Executive Committee was not interested in a study that examines safety interventions and initiatives that have been required by regulatory agencies or adopted by industry in recent years in response to safety concerns arising from developments other than the domestic energy Box 1-1 Statement of Task This study will focus on the transportation safety issues associated with changes in the long-distance movement of crude oil, natural gas, and ethanol resulting from sharply increased domestic production of these hazardous materials in recent years.
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From page 13... ...
While a discussion of past initiatives is needed to provide context, the focus of the study is on examining the more recent response to the specific challenges arising from the domestic energy revolution. Moreover, the TRB Executive Committee was not interested in a study that second-guesses these recent responses, but rather one that is forward-looking and helpful for the development of an increasingly robust safety assurance system -- one that enables a more effective response to the energy transportation challenge.
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